The present invention relates generally to an improved beverage cup holder and protector, and more particularly to such a cup protector comprising a thermally insulating or isolating cup-enveloping sleeve with a body of generally truncated cylindrical complimentary to and matching that of any one of a family of these beverage cups commonly employed in commercial and domestic use. Because beverages such as coffee are normally served hot, there is a need for a thermal isolation barrier to be interposed between the cup surface and the hand of the user, since hot beverages are typically vended with the expectation that prior to consumption there will be a time lapse to permit the beverage to cool until reaching a desired drinking temperature.
Coffee and other hot beverages are frequently sold through vending stations or machines or in xe2x80x9ccoffee housesxe2x80x9d where they are served over the counter both of which are on a self-serve basis. The purchaser or user hand carries the cup to a location where it may be conveniently consumed. In the past, hot beverages were frequently served in foam resin containers, with the foam resin providing a thermal barrier for the user. Recently, however, it has been concluded that cups prepared from paper or solid molded plastic are more environmentally friendly, and hence fulfill an environmental need and provide some added appeal to the consuming public. Thus, protective sleeves are desired for providing thermal isolation between the outside surface of the cup and the hands of the consumer.
Vending stations or machine locations and coffee houses typically offer a size selection for hot beverages, such as, for example, small, medium, and large. Commercial establishments have generally settled on a family of sizes for cup containers, with the family typically having a common diameter across the open top, and with the length or height of the cup determining its capacity. Since the outer diameter of the cup is generally determined by a convenient hand-holding size for the public, only the cone angle of individual cups within each family of cups will vary, with the longer, larger capacity cups having a cone angle less than that of the shorter or smaller cups. Thus, it is desirable for cup-enveloping sleeves to be versatile, and capable of accommodating cups within the range of sizes offered with the family of sizes.
In accordance with the present invention, a beverage cup protector is provided which comprises a cup-enveloping sleeve with a hand-gripping cup-engaging body portion of generally truncated cylindrical configuration with open top and bottom ends. The sleeve comprises a flexible plastic body with opposed top and bottom edges defining the openings, and with a plurality of arcuately spaced arrays of flexible elongated expansible ribs extending continuously between said top and bottom edges. These ribs are of a height sufficient to isolate and thermally insulate the surface of the outer hand-gripping portion of the sleeve from the surface of the serving cup. The configurational design of the improved beverage cup holder and protector enables production of a combined sleeve and cap-lid with production being achieved from use of the same material and pursuant to same production methods. Between each mutually adjacent array of elongated ribs, there is positioned a reticulated radial inwardly extending projections, with the reticulated projections being segmented and defining circumferentially extending land areas between mutually adjacent segments of projections. These land areas are provided in order to increase the surface area available for hand gripping, and also to permit printing of advertising indicia or the like on the exposed surface. There may also be provided an integrally hinged cup lid for grippingly engaging the top rolled edge of the beverage cup, with flexible link means being provided for coupling the lid to the cup-engaging sleeve.
In the design of the cup-enveloping sleeve of the present invention, the flexible elongated ribs permit extension or elongation of the sleeve length, with the configuration of the inter-rib spacing or gap between the ribs being altered from a normal generally rectangular configuration to an inwardly/downwardly tapered configuration to permit the sleeve to conform to the frusto-conical configurations of each of a family of beverage cups. The expansible ribs are preferably tapered inwardly from the top edge to the bottom edge so as to provide an elongated rib with a vertical axis parallel to the elongated axis of the beverage cup. This design provides an added element of symmetry, and also enables the cup-enveloping sleeve to conform to each cup within the family of cups.
In order to permit the cup-engaging sleeves of the present invention to be shipped and stored in flat nested form, each of the flanged projections is tapered at an angle so as to accommodate stacking of a large number of sleeves in a nested arrangement. Also, complimentary male and female snap fit projection means are formed within the body adjacent the sides, with one or more sets of said snap means being provided for inter-engagement to snapably engage and retain said sides together in superposed relationship.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved beverage cup protector in the form of a cup-enveloping sleeve which provides thermal isolation for the user, and wherein the cup-enveloping sleeve is adapted for use with any of a family of paper cups commonly employed by commercial vending establishments as well as domestic use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved beverage cup protector in the form of a cup-enveloping sleeve with a body of truncated cylindrical configuration with opposed open top and bottom ends, and wherein the sleeve comprises a plurality of arcuately spaced apart arrays of expansible ribs to permit use on a variety of sizes of beverage cups.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved insulating sleeve and lid or cap configured to permit simultaneous manufacture from the same material and pursuant to the same manufacturing and/or production methods.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide improved cup-enveloping sleeves to create a beverage cup protector with the sleeve including a beverage cup lid for grippingly engaging the top edge of the cup, and with flexible link means coupling the lid to the cup-engaging sleeve.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved cup-enveloping sleeve for beverage cup protection in which the sleeves may be shipped and stored in a nested flat arrangement, and with opposed sides being snapped together to create the conical enclosure for engaging the cup periphery as required.
Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the following specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.